town

plural towns · alternative tahn · alternative tawn · alternative Northumbria toon · alternative obsolete toune · alternative obsolete towne

1. countableuncountableA settlement; an area with residential districts, shops and amenities, and its own local government; especially one larger than a village and smaller than a city, historically enclosed by a fence or walls, with total populations ranging from several hundred to more than a hundred thousand (as of the early 21st century)

   This town is really dangerous because these youngsters have Beretta handguns.

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   Apparently the first reference to the making of the town walls of Stafford (it appears pretty clear that the town was never surrounded by one continuous wall or stockade, but partly by one and partly by the other) occurs in the Patent Rolls, from which we find that in 1225 permission was granted by the king to the "good men of Stafford” to collect customs or tolls for a period to enable them to enclose the town.

   1920, Birmingham Archaeological Society, Transactions and Proceedings for the Year, page 142

   Walls separated town and country through much of the early modern period. Walls not only protected towns, they also helped give them a sense of autonomy and identity.

   2001, Thomas Brennan, “Town and country in France , 1550–1750”, in S. R. Epstein, editor, Town and Country in Europe, 1300-1800, page 250

   Fortifications and town walls clearly highlight the central military significance of towns.

   2011, Mikuláš Teich, Dušan Kováč, Martin D. Brown, Slovakia in History, page 42

   As towns continue to grow, replanting vegetation has become a form of urban utopia and green roofs are spreading fast. Last year 1m square metres of plant-covered roofing was built in France, as much as in the US, and 10 times more than in Germany, the pioneer in this field. In Paris 22 hectares of roof have been planted, out of a potential total of 80 hectares.

   2013 May 10, Audrey Garric, “Urban canopies let nature bloom”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 22, archived from the original on 26 Mar 2019, page 30

   The medieval town, at least in continental Europe, was walled, and without its defences it was no town.

   2014, Norman John Greville Pounds, An Economic History of Medieval Europe, page 228

2. countableuncountableAny more urbanized centre than the place of reference.

   I'll be in Yonkers, then I'm driving into town to see the Knicks at the Garden tonight.

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   Judge Short had gone to town, and Farrar was off for a three days' cruise up the lake. I was bitterly regretting I had not gone with him when the distant notes of a coach horn reached my ear, and I descried a four-in-hand winding its way up the inn road from the direction of Mohair.

   1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter IV, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC

3. UKcountablehistoricaluncountableA rural settlement in which a market was held at least once a week.
4. countableuncountableThe residents (as opposed to gown: the students, faculty, etc.) of a community which is the site of a university.
5. colloquialcountableuncountableUsed to refer to a town or similar entity under discussion.

   Call me when you get to town.

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   They put up "lost dog" posters all over town.

   My apartment is five minutes from the center of town.

   It's quiet in this part of town.

   I had occasion[…]to make a somewhat long business trip to Chicago, and on my return[…]I found Farrar awaiting me in the railway station. He smiled his wonted fraction by way of greeting[…], and finally leading me to his buggy, turned and drove out of town.

   1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter II, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC

   “Best steak in town is Capital Grille, with the best waiter in town taking care of you, Tom Stevens,” says Matt Keelen, the founder of The Keelen Group.

   2014, Megan R. Wilson, quoting Scott Talbott, “15 places in DC where lobbyists talk turkey”, in The Hill, archived from the original on 22 Jul 2019

6. countableuncountableA major city, especially one where the speaker is located.

   There's always a business theme, even underlying happy hours. You're never off the clock in this town.

   2014, Megan R. Wilson, quoting Scott Talbott, “15 places in DC where lobbyists talk turkey”, in The Hill, archived from the original on 22 Jul 2019

7. countableuncountablebiologyAn interconnected maze of tunnels in which prairie dogs live.
8. countableinformaluncountablebusinessA townhouse.

   Detached houses always sell faster than towns or semis.

   2002, Garth Turner, The Little Book of Real Estate Wisdom, Toronto, O.N.: Key Porter Books, →ISBN, page 38

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   It's not just market forces that are bringing out the semis and towns. Municipalities are requiring developers to build a mix of homes into their new planned communities, partly out of a concession to make more efficient use of virgin land, but also to address the need for more affordable housing for families who might not be able to crack a $300,000 mortgage.

   2004 June 11, Derek Raymaker, “Suburbs add semi-detached to the mix”, in The Globe and Mail, Toronto, O.N.: The Woodbridge Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 26 May 2023

9. countableuncountablelawA municipal organization, such as a corporation, defined by the laws of the entity of which it is a part.
10. countableobsoleteuncountableAn enclosure which surrounded the mere homestead or dwelling of the lord of the manor; by extension, the whole of the land which constituted the domain.
11. ScotlandUKcountabledialectalobsoleteuncountableA farm or farmstead; also, a court or farmyard.

plural Towns

1. countableuncountableA surname.
2. countableuncountableA community and ward in Merthyr Tydfil borough county borough, Wales, in Merthyr Tydfil town centre.
3. EnglandalsocountabletraditionaluncountableLondon, especially central London.
4. Philippinesabbreviationcolloquialcountableellipsisuncountablesouthern Metro ManilaEllipsis of Alabang Town Center: a mall in Alabang, Muntinlupa, Metro Manila, Philippines.

   Synonyms: ATC